One of the most famous incidents that you've never heard of is the 1956 water polo semifinal between the Soviet Union and Hungary. It's been rated among the top 10 stunning moments in Olympic history and is an important footnote to a bloody chapter of the early Cold War. First, a little backstory.

On Oct. 23, 1956, a student protest in Budapest escalated into an uprising against the Soviet-backed government. Stalin was three years dead, and reformers had taken power in both Hungary and the Soviet Union. As later took place in 1989 and 1990, when authority was relaxed, public expressions of protest became much more visible.

After a week of public protest, however, the Soviet Union reacted. On Nov. 1, the Soviet Union invaded Hungary. Tanks stormed into the country and Soviet soldiers massacred protesters on land and in the air.

1956 was the year of the Summer Olympics, but this was the first year that they were to be held in the southern hemisphere -- in Melbourne, Australia -- so the games began in November. The June 18, 2012 issue of Sports Illustrated has a great account of events for the team.

From their mountaintop training facility, the players saw smoke rising from the Soviet attacks. Their training and distance, however, kept them in the dark. As fighting continued, they were taken to nearby Czechoslovakia to isolate them from the conflict.

Their first knowledge of the extent of the revolt didn't come until they arrived in Australia and read English-language accounts of the Soviet invasion.

The bad blood with the Soviet Union started on Nov. 22, when the Hungarian team turned its backs on the Soviet Union during opening ceremonies. That was the same day the Soviet Union seized Hungary's reform-minded prime minister, who was later executed.

The bad blood turned literal when the Hungarian water polo team met the Soviet Union in the semifinals. The Sports Illustrated story I've linked above is better than any account I can give.

The game devolved into a bloody fistfight in the pool, and photographers at the event captured striking images that went worldwide.

After the Olympics, several players defected to the West rather than return to Hungary. In 2006, for the 50th anniversary of the game, a feature film (Children of Glory) and a documentary (Freedom's Fury) were produced, and you can probably find them online.

I have an example of eastern versus eastern competition here but it is also an example of extreme patriotism on the Soviets' side. Kozakiewicz's gesture